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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

Astronaut James Reilly was found by fisherman, his arms missing, floating 300 yards from the shore of Turkey, reports the Hürriyet Daily News.

The Fiberglas likeness of the former NASA astronaut had been erected in Marmaris Marina in June 1997 in "the memory of James Reilly who carried the Turkish flag and Marmaris pennant to space", as the dedication on the statue's base described.

The missing statue of a U.S. astronaut was found yesterday, a day after it went missing, when local fishermen saw its head sticking out of the water 300 meters into the sea.

The Naval police went to the region and pulled it ashore. It was reported that the statues two arms were severed from the elbow down.

According to the Daily News, the statue, which was made by Rahmi Atalay of Ankara University, was criticized for looking more like a diver than an astronaut.

Delta7

I read the first paragraph and my jaw dropped.

Don't do that!

Mike Dixon

Mine too...

The first morbid thought I had was that though he won't be able to sign anymore, thank heavens he's OK

The statue for all astronauts and cosmonauts the people of Marmaris and Turkey erected in commemoration of my visit to fly the flag of Turkey to the International Space Station is a true honor and one that I will never forget. I have, and will always have, the greatest respect and admiration for the people I met there and the culture of the country. The act of vandalism mentioned in the article is something that could happen anywhere and it is my desire that this be considered an isolated incident and not be a negative action that would cloud the future of true international efforts in space exploration.

Kemal Ataturk once said: "The future is in the air" and he was right in this assessment. The future is indeed in the air, or in space, and it will be a future of international cooperation and not just singular national programs. Turkey should be a partner in the future and I fervently hope to see the Turkish flag on the suit of an astronaut in the near future.

Robert Pearlman

While my original post was jovial in nature, I do want to underscore Jim Reilly's message (and thank you Farris for sharing it) that this act of vandalism is greatly regrettable.

I do hope they are able to restore the statue and that the person(s) responsible for its damage are found and held accountable.

Hart Sastrowardoyo

My guess is that the vandal is someone who didn't like the NASA worm logo on the statue....

mjanovec

quote:Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:My guess is that the vandal is someone who didn't like the NASA worm logo on the statue....